It wasn’t good when I was younger... but I’m proof fostering works

Ryan’s joy at family who made him ‘feel loved’

MORE than 3,000 children are living in care in Northern Ireland – with an average of 16 young people entering the system every week.

And as well as the heartache they may already have suffered in their lives comes the stigma of life in care.

Ryan Mcchesney, who went into care when he was just five years old, said: “When I was young, it wasn’t a good feeling.

“I had plenty of people saying things to me over the years and there was a feeling of being different because I wasn’t with my family.”

But today, to mark National Care Day, life has transformed for the 19-year-old, who has decided to open up about the best parts of his life.

Ryan said: “For me, fostering was the best option by far.

“At the start it might feel bad but I’m an example of how it can go well. I went into a family who did so much for me. They were good, they always helped me and they made me feel loved.

“They just are my family now. They’re exactly what you’d expect a family to be. Normal, supportive, fun.”

Ryan was in the care system for two

years before he ended up with Margaret and Raymond Dunn, who already had two daughters.

He had lived with “a couple” of foster families and endured the bitter disappointment of them falling through by the time he found his forever home.

The Newtownards man worked through his GCSES and gained AS Levels in geography and business and is now working as a CAD co-ordinator.

He said: “I never could have done all that without my family. I’m even buying a house now, which I’d never have been able to do without them.”

Two years ago Ryan got involved with Voice Of Young People In Care and he is now vice chair of their young people’s committee.

He said: “The charity is great, it’s so important to make young people in care realise they’re not alone.”

The organisation’s Vivian Mcconvey added: “Our alliance simply wants a world where these children and all young people can thrive and achieve their dreams so they have a future that is fulfilled and of which they are proud.”